Study plan
The graduate program has a flexible curricular structure that allows students to enroll in courses that address their concerns and meet their educational needs within a framework that focuses on attaining objectives, developing the final project, and meeting the program's graduate profile.
The Study plan is divided into three curricular areas: Fundamentals; Research, Development and Innovation (RDI); and Electives.
FUNDAMENTALS
The courses in this area define the academic field and the program's identity, and relate to the Lines of Generation and Application of Knowledge (LGAC's, in their initials in Spanish).
RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION (RDI).
This area is closely related to the Advisory Support System. Its purpose is to accompany students in their process of defining, developing, writing and presenting their final projects. Students will receive group and personal advisory sessions called RDI courses.
ELECTIVES
The purpose of this area is to give students the chance to dialogue with other fields of knowledge outside of their own discipline, in order to generate knowledge and solve problems related to their project and object of study. This area draws on courses from all ITESO graduate programs and from other universities that have a collaboration agreement with ITESO.
Advisory support system
The advisory support system seeks to encourage connections between students' research, innovation and development interests and the Lines of Generation and Application of Knowledge of each particular graduate program, as well as links to the rest of the graduate programs.
The advisory support system is based on a person-oriented approach, and gives preference to collective production scenarios. It consists of interaction between students and advisors that is intended to provoke dissonance through constructive criticism, as a way to encourage reflection and the collective construction of knowledge.
The support system articulates different educational dimensions (individual, social and historical) in each one of the program's curricular periods. Advisory sessions can also be taken in pairs or individually.
Fundamentals- Theory of Human Rights
- Theory of Peace and Conflicts
- International Human Rights Law
- Contemporary Debates about Peace and Conflicts
- Public Policy
- Contemporary Debates about Human Rights
Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI)
- Research, Development and Innovation I. Advisory support and assistance in Professional Application Projects.
- Research, Development and Innovation II. Advisory support and assistance in Professional Application Projects.
- Research, Development and Innovation III. Advisory support and assistance in Professional Application Projects.
- Research, Development and Innovation IV. Advisory support and assistance in Professional Application Projects.
Electives
- Constitutional Law Clinic
- Political Communication
- International Cooperation
- Social Movements and Human Rights
- Judicial Reform and Constitutional Rule of Law
| Term 1 | Term 2 | Term 3 | Term 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peace and Conflict Theory | International Human Rights Law | Public Policies for Human Rights and Peace | Contemporary Debates about Peace and Conflicts |
| Human Rights Theory | Elective 1 | Elective 2 | Contemporary Debates about Human Rights |
| RD&I I | RD&I II | RD&I III | RD&I IV |
Objectives of the study plan
The aim of the Master's Degree in Human Rights and Peace is to provide students with the theoretical / practical tools required to intervene effectively in the social issue of human rights violations, especially at the local and regional levels in mid-western Mexico. The program trains professionals who specialize in wielding the conceptual and practical tools for the promotion and protection of human rights, from a peace-building perspective. What sets ITESO's Master's Degree in Human Rights and Peace apart from other graduate programs is its interdisciplinary approach, which at the same time offers a degree of specialization thanks to its integrated graduate program model.
This graduate program combines theoretical elements and practical experiences (Professional Application Projects) and aims at creating a professional profile that is critical of our social and political situation, and at the same time capable of proposing concrete measures to promote and defend human rights and peace building. The natural fields for graduates' professional careers include civil associations, government bodies responsible for defending human rights and peace building, as well as academia. With respect to the topic of their Final Projects, students can choose from two lines of research: Human Rights as they relate to legal guarantees and protections, and Peace Building, with a focus on developing integration processes, alternative solutions to conflicts, and the construction of imperfect peace processes for complex social conflicts. In addition, priority is given to the study of International Human Rights Law, social movements, and peace, as well as to the design, implementation, and evaluation of human rights-related public policies.
Goals of the study plan
The Master's Degree in Human Rights and Peace is divided into three areas. The first is the area of fundamentals, which includes 6 required subjects that provide specialization in the disciplines of human rights and peace building. The courses in Human Rights Theory and Constitutional Procedural Justice contribute directly to a solid grounding in Human Rights, while the courses in Peace and Conflict Theory, and International Human Rights Law, provide the foundation for Peace. The two remaining fundamentals courses, Economics and Public Policy, equip students with key analytical and critical thinking tools.
The elective area is made up of two courses that can be selected from the area of fundamentals of the other integrated graduate degrees: the Master's Degree in Constitutional Law and Legal Argumentation or the Master's Degree in Politics and Public Administration. The third area consists of the Research, Development and Innovation courses, the only serialized courses of the graduate program, where students work with the advisory support system to develop the practical aspects of the program. These courses account for 25% of the total offerings, and they focus on the development of the Final Project and participation in the Professional Application Projects (PAPs). PAPs are designed to immerse students in real-world settings outside of the university, where they can apply their socio-professional knowledge and skills in order to propose solutions or solve problems in social environments, with an eye to improving the quality of life of others and assuming the profession's social commitment. PAPs in this graduate program serve as professional experiences; they are articulated with the Research, Development and Innovation courses.
Entrance profile
The Master's Degree in Human Rights and Peace is aimed at professionals from any discipline who are committed to society and its context, who are willing to address complex issues and engage in interdisciplinary dialogue, with an interest in incorporating human rights and peace perspectives into their professional practice in order to influence public decisions in favor of those who have limited access to a dignified life. In this sense, this graduate program is aimed at:
Public servants from any level and branch of government;
Members of civil and non-government organizations that promote and defend human rights and peace processes;
Academics and researchers who are interested in exploring topics of human rights and peace;
Consultants and advisors in topics of human rights, peace, or public policy;
Recently graduated professionals who wish to deepen their knowledge and specialize in these topics.
Candidates for this graduate program must have a clear project in mind that will build on the contents and skills offered by the study plan. Students are required to: a) have a bachelor's degree in a field of the social sciences that relates to human rights and peace building; and b) accredit the level of English proficiency needed for university studies. In addition to this, students are evaluated on their ability to communicate spoken and written messages using language appropriate to the context of graduate studies, and to manage scientific information using the academic methods expected at a graduate level of study.
Graduate profile
Graduates from the Master's Degree in Human Rights and Peace will develop skills to: Interpret the human rights codification instruments used at the international level, as well as the transnational systems of human rights monitoring and compliance.
Identify the jurisdictional bodies and procedural instruments of constitutional justice, constitutional boundaries, as well as constitutional interpretation methods, national jurisprudence, and their impact on the legal system
Design, implement, and evaluate public policies from the perspective of human rights and peace.
Manage and transform conflicts peacefully, protecting the centrality of the individual and his or her rights.
Draw on multiple disciplines to theorize critically about social reality, from the specific perspectives of human rights and peace.
Integrate theoretical and analytical knowledge by dealing with practical real-world legal and political problems related to human rights.
Produce innovative, creative, and critical knowledge that promotes peaceful coexistence and respect for human rights.
Address specific challenges in the fields of human rights and peace, in order to promote social responsibility and cohesion, as well as a commitment to the most dispossessed sectors of society.
Make systemic, sustainable, socially responsible and human-centered decisions in their socio-professional practice.
Graduates of the Master's Degree in Human Rights and Peace can work in:
The public sector, i.e., in public administration at the federal, state, or municipal level, as well as in the different government bodies and agencies involved in the promotion and defense of human rights and peace;
Private consulting firms or government agencies that specialize in the design of public policies that relate to human rights and peace;
Institutions of higher education and advanced research centers, generating and disseminating knowledge about issues related to human rights and peace;
At national and international foundations and non-government organizations that promote and defend human rights and peace.
Recognition of Official Validity of Studies (RVOE) as set forth by Ministerial Agreement No. 15018, published in the Official Journal of the Federation on November 29, 1976. Classroom modality.
